Fountain-comb.



' roumain-ooms.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1d, 1916..

Application ledl March 18, 1915. Serial No. 15,305.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARY ELIZABETH SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Orlando, in the county of Orange and vState of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain- Combs; -and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the samen..-

My invention relates broadly to improvements in toilet articles,"and more particularly to fountain combs and the like for applying tonics and dyes to the hair.

Heretofore, it has been the common prac- CB t apply hair tonics and dyes With-them4 tips of the ngers, massaging the scalp 4in an endeavor to equally distribute the fluid. Ithas been found, however, that by this .method the Huid cannot be evenly distributed, and if dye is used, the fingersof the person applying the same are noticeably stained. This is of course very undesirable,

since days and even weeks are often required before the stains may be removed from the hands. In order to overcome this difficulty, numerous fountain combs have been placed upon the market, but such devices have, up to the present date, met with little success, since they either do not allow sufficient Huid to be discharged, or else so much of this fluid is delivered, that it runs from the scalp of the user, thus often soiling her face as well as her clothing.

It is the object of my invention, therefore, to provide a fluid applying device which is so constructed as to allow exactly the proper amount of tonic or dye to be discharged, this amount being totally under control of the person using the same. In accomplishing this end, I provide certain novel features of construction and combina.

tion hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In describing the lnvention, .I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the various views, and

wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention partly in section; Fig. 2 is an end View thereof, and Fig. 3 is a'vertical transverse section as seen along the plane indicated by the'lineBe-S of Fig.' 1.

In this drawing, constitutirgakiiart of the application, the numeral 1 designates a fluid receptacle which is here shown in the form of an elongated comparatively flat casing,

the lower side of the latter being provided vglvf,

with a plurality of perforations 2' from which a series of fluid-distributing members 3 project. In the present case, the members 3 are shown in the form of comb teeth, although it will be evident that were the receptacle 1 in the form of a brush back, rather than the back of a comb, the distributing members 3 could well be in the form of bristles. In employing comb teeth, however, the same are provided with longitudinal ports 4 which lead from the diseharge openings 2 through the ends of the teeth, branch ports 5 being also provided. In most cases, these ports 5 lead from the main ports 4 through the sides of the teeth, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The receptacle 1 is shown in the accom-` panying drawing as having a lid 6 which', when closed, is disposed in huid-tight contact with the open upper side of said receptacle, whereby to prevent the escape of fluid placed therein. A Although any preferred type of hinge could be rovided for connecting one edge of the li 6 to one edge of the receptacle l, these hinges are preferably in the form of elastic straps 7, and an elastic loop or the like 8 is secured to the opposite edge of the lid 6 to be stretched/and passed over the headed stud 9 which projects laterally from the receptacle 1. By constructing the'hinges 7 and the latch 8 of elastic material, it will be evident that the lid 6 will though it will be evident that felt or any' material capable of absorbing `liquids b ca illary attraction, could Well be use Iiiewise disposed inthe receptacle l and contactingwth the absorbent member 10, is a manually operable inwardly movable .presser-bar 11 which gradually decreases in `width from its upper to its lower edge. lBy "so constructing the presser bar 11, it will exert a wedglng action on the absorbent member as shown in Fig. 3, thus forcing such member into frictional Contact with the sides of the cavity in the comb back when said bar is forced inwardly. The result is that the member 10 is prevented from being lio forced bodily inward to such an extent as to obstruct the passage of fluid through the ports 2. l v

In the ltype of the invention shown in the drawing, the bar 11 is provided with an operating member including a stem 12 which projects slidably through an opening in the lid 6, and a knob or the like lwhch is secured upon the outer end of said stem.

By. this construction, it will be evident that the user of the comb may force inwardly upon the knob 13 when it is necessary to "jvgsdischarge more fluid into the hair, whereupon the absorbent member 10 will be com pressed by the presser-bar 11, and such fluid will be discharged through the outlet openings 2 and through the ports l. and 5. It will be understood, however, that the member must have Vpreviously been saturated with the tonic, dye, or other iuid'to be applied to the hair and scalp.

In the foregoing,'I have described certain specific details'of construction for reducing the'invention to an operative device, and in Vthe drawing, haveA shown such details, but

it will be obvious that I"eiI6t`bliiited-= thereto otherwise 'than as specified in ther following which I claim as my invention: A fountain comb comprising a back hav-l ing therein an elongated cavity opening through its upper edge, a plurality of. comb teeth depending from said back and having ports leading trom the cavity to their exterior, a cover plate resting on the comb back andhaving a central o ening, an upright stem extending throug suchv opening same into frictional contact'with the aforey said sides of the cavity, thereb preventing inward movement of said bar rom moving the absorbent member inwardly to such an extent as to close ythe yperts.

.f/ In testimony whereof I havev hereunto set my hand in presence of two -subscribing witnesses. MARY ELIZABETPL SMITH. Witnesses D. W. McLEoD,

W. P. SMITH. 

